Bound
by deerdeerest
Summary: A troll finds herself involved with the horde/alliance feud and embarks to figure out what's really going on out there in Azeroth, along with her lively, and unexpected companions. R&R please, betas, really any advice is welcome. :)


Ryiev ran through the lumbering forest, frozen earth flew under her bare toes and trees bitten by the cold December frost whipped past her. The wind slapped against her, but even as the smallest troll in her tribe, she didn't falter. The air was cold to say the least, each breath was a struggle and her lungs felt tremendous tightness in her chest, the ice in the air littered her smooth face in delicate cuts but if that was a job well done cost, there could be no limit to what she would endure. After what feels like the thousandth time, the sting of ice hitting the skin even felt welcomed. Like a twisted pat on the back.

Finally she came to a clearing and decided she could afford to catch her breath, but kept her petite ears pricked and attentive; there was that strange and heavy feeling in the air, she was being followed. Being a forest troll, Ryiev had absolutely no trouble scaling trees and scouting the land. Soft green moss was pressed into the delicate lilac hairs that coated her body which presented an overall olive skin tone which acted as a camouflage while hunting. Ryievs glowing red scanned the area for any movement.

The job had been simple enough, just your everyday assassination of the local humans outpost's general, and when you're experienced enough to call yourself the villages outlook it really was just simple busy work, and it's not like the humans would be quick enough assemble a search team for they tend to mourn over Ryiev's work much longer than any other race. _Humans truly are a bunch of emotional whimpering pigs._

A light noise brought attention to her right; she glanced over to her left as a large menacing feline stalked through the bushes, with its head sunk low and nose touched against the dead leaves. It was a night elf druid; the telltale tattooed markings on hide gave that away, not to mention the unmistakable eyes that glowed such a deep, royal blue. Ryievs mouth dropped in awe as the creature transformed into its natural form.

Ryiev couldn't hide the wonder that flitted across her face as the creature switched forms. It was like a mixture of magic and illusion; one moment he was on all fours, and the next fluidly transformed into something nearly half the size he had been before. And as he did, the air around him seemed to contract, bending at the change in volume and then altering its nature by letting off a quick burst of pressure at the end of the transformation. It was a terribly unfamiliar sight, having been raised in a society where druids are taboo, although calling anything taboo sounds funny coming from a girl that grew up sucking marrow out of gnomes, but Ryiev was nonetheless awestruck.

She herself was a rogue, delicately trained in the art of stealth and shadow. A subtle killer. From a young age Ryiev had always wanted to be an outlook, they were after all the protectors of the villages, the information gathers, and at times the assassins. Being able to sift between the shadows, turning near invisible was an art she had surprised her village with at the mere age of 3. Now at 22 she was considered mature and permitted to carry out the orders of her witch doctor.

As Ryiev came out of her deep thoughts, she stared at the druid as he glanced around the brush. He had to of been considered massive by his fellow elves, but by troll stature he was merely a child. The man was without a doubt a courier, an important one at that to be a druid. Most couriers were left to the "expendable" classes, such as rogues or even some warriors.

The man was truly handsome, as far as night elves go with large dark blue ears jetting out of his cascading snow white hair, he had a very angular face with high cheek bones but it was looking at the man's eyes that made Ryiev shudder, those intense blue eyes were scanning the trees in sheer determination. His Stormwind tabard gave away his undying allegiance to the Alliance and Ryiev immediately thirsted for his bag of important papers which were no doubt, headed straight toward the capitol. This would be a real treat, for it was very rare to come across Stormwind officials.

Ryiev had heard whispers of a war between the group of creatures called the alliance and the ones referred to as horde. A jungle troll had arrived a few years ago requesting to speak to the chief, he had hopes that the forest and jungle trolls could combine and that her people would fight for their cause. The details were all purely word of mouth, but the chief had no interest in fighting a war that was not their own.

"I sense you are here, troll. Please know that I mean you no harm." he stated, a forced sense of calm lulled into the space between his words. _Bullshit_. Since when did an alliance official stalk a troll with the intention of just "talking"?

Ryiev imagined just rushing at him, lunging at the night elfs throat. She imagined tearing it open, and watching as the spurts of crimson spew from his arteries. Her desire to tear him limb from limb was overwhelming, she knew she could take him with ease. Ryiev had never been one to flee and the action from the human's assassination left a hunger rumbling through her stomach.

Ryiev unsheathed her daggers she had forged from the corpse of some mercenaries that happened to wonder off the beaten path. The voodoo priestess had cursed one of the blades with what would start like a poison; slowly the veins that were nicked would start to bubble and hiss as a dark shadow crept into the blood stream causing excruciating pain and complete numbness. A few words in zandali would be all it took to awaken the steel.

The man had locked in to the tree Ryiev was standing in and began mumbling some magic in his tongue. _Come on ry, focus._ Closer and closer, she silently edged across the thick trees lower skirt. Full of grace but with the ferocity of a jungle cat she leapt onto his small back, putting him face down against the hard, barren ground. She held a blade to his upper spine, directly underneath his skull with one hand, and clutched all of hair in the other. She pulled the tresses to the side, allowing his mouth solace from the dirt.

"Speak." she barked against his completely rigid body. His skin had broken out in goose bumps but quickly disappeared as he attempted to regain his composure. He released a long, deep breath and spit "I should've expected no less from a savage." Ryiev pressed her blade against him firmly.

"Speak, I am not warnin' ya again." she hissed. Every fiber of her being was urging her to dive the blade through his skull. Small talk was such a waste of time.

The air around her grew thin, and a soft vibration hummed against his slender back as his form started to change, and before she could blink a suffocating pressure washed through her, and Ryiev found herself straddling the back the giant white cat with the starving glowing eyes. Ryiev's battle reflex kicked in as she attempted to thrust the blade into whatever she could find.

The druid slammed into the ground, and sent Ryiev flying into the trunk of a tree, releasing the fine powder that had collected on the leaves. The lifeless leaves that littered the floor began spiraling around the cat in a ferocious gust of wind, from brown to green the leaves color crept through every cell and swirled against the druids wound. Apparently the blind plunge had hit something.

Ryiev lunged again, crazed eyes set right for the creature's jugular and this time was no fluke. He let out a blood curdling scream as the hot liquid seeped out of his wounds and hit the pristine blanket beneath them. She jumped off of him as he collapsed to the ground, transforming back into the night elf, green roots seemed to be growing out of his hands as he grasped around his throat.

"Ya messed up, mon." she modulated ever so sweetly, chuckling at her work. This man wasn't going to be able heal himself out of this one. He gasped and gagged as his body went through spasm after spasm.

Ryiev blended back into the shadows, crept around to the side of the man and cut his head clean off. Elation wafted through her, not only had she slain the human chief, and gathered information, but she would bring dinner home as well. She grabbed the courier's satchel of documents in one hand, slung the limp man over her shoulder, and grabbed his dismembered head. With a smile glimmering across her sharp canines she continued her trek back home as the snow began to come down faster and heavier, painting Azeroth a peaceful white.


End file.
